Dr. Amelie Ramirez Named to Influential Board of Directors


Amelie Ramirez

Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind Salud America!, has been elected to the board of directors for C-Change, a national organization that aims to leverage the expertise of leaders from government, business and nonprofit sectors of society to eliminate cancer as a major health problem as soon as possible. Founded in 1998, C-Change’s approaches cancer as a societal burden that everyone bears the responsibility for addressing. C-Change’s 150 members identify opportunities for collective action and apply the group’s unique strength—the collective expertise and resources of leaders from the three sectors of society—to accelerate action to end ...

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U.S. Cancer Rates Keep Falling; Biggest Decline Among Hispanic, Black Men



A new report from the American Cancer Society indicates that cancer death rates are continuing to fall, dropping by 1.8% per year in men and 1.6% per year in women between 2004 and 2008, thanks to advances in cancer screening and treatment, Reuters reports. While the rate of decline is small, experts say, it is significant because it has continued to fall each year in the past 10. Cancer death rates among Hispanic men (2.3%) and black men (2.4%) had the biggest declines. But the news is not all good. According to the Reuters report: Despite improvements in the most common cancers, a companion report found an increase in cases of several cancers over the past decade, Reuters. These included cancers of the pancreas, liver, thyroid, and kidney and melanoma, as well as esophageal cancer ...

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VIDEO: Latinos, Others Honored for Overcoming Obstacles to Tackle Community Health Problems



Watch this new video that tells the heartwarming stories of the 10 men and women who were recently honored as Community Health Leaders by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for overcoming daunting odds to improve the health and quality of life for those in disadvantaged or underserved communities across the country. Two Latinos are among the awardees. At the video's 6:32 mark, listen to how Latino father Richard Nares was recognized for developing a successful model to support and transport low-income families with children battling cancer to medical visits. Or read more about him here. At the video's 7:23 mark, listen to how Dr. Gabriel Rincón was recognized for launching Mixteca Organization, Inc., which provides health and education programs to thousands of Latino New Yorkers ...

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VIDEO: What Is the Single Best Thing You Can Do for Your Health?



We at SaludToday would encourage you to watch this video that puts a unique spin on answering the question: What is the single best thing we can do for our health? The video comes from Dr. Mike Evans, founder of the Health Design Lab at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, associate professor of family medicine and public health at the University of Toronto, and a staff physician at St. Michael's ...

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Mental Health Workforce Shortage More Critical in Minority Communities



Texas' severe shortage of mental health professionals is compounded by a disparity in diagnosing and treating the state's rapidly growing Latino and other minority communities, the Texas Tribune reports. The report indicates that 64% of all psychiatrists were white, 3.5% were black, and 12.4% were Hispanic in 2009. Watch this captivating video to see more about this ...

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How to Overcome Latino Children’s Low Physical Activity Levels



Editor's Note: This is Part 3 of a series on new Salud America! research briefs examining Latino youth nutrition, physical activity and marketing. Today's focus is physical activity. Preventing obesity among Latino youth will require a sizeable decrease in energy intake and/or a reciprocal increase in physical activity. A new Salud America! research brief shows that: Latino parents report more barriers to their children’s physical activity than do white parents, including transportation problems, concerns about neighborhood safety, and the expense and availability of local recreation opportunities. Latino children living in lower-income communities and unsafe neighborhoods are more likely to be physically inactive, overweight and/or obese. Immigrant Latino children are ...

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VIDEOS: Training on Patient Navigation & Latino Cancer Issues



Redes En Acción: The National Latino Cancer Research Network has released three videos on cancer issues and research methods that were used to train Redes En Acción researchers and patient navigators in Miami and San Antonio and Austin, Texas, who are involved in a study examining how patient navigators who use the LIVESTRONG Cancer Navigation Services Program can improve the quality of life of Latino breast, colorectal and prostate cancer survivors. The videos are designed specifically for the study, funded by the National Cancer Institute; but the videos may be useful in any patient navigator studies involving Latinos. Video 1 teaches researchers and patient navigators the proper steps on how to manage a potential mental health emergency or psychological related emergency that may ...

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Latino Children Struggle to Avoid Unhealthy Foods



Editor's Note: This is Part 2 of a series on new Salud America! research briefs examining Latino youth nutrition, physical activity and marketing. Today's focus is nutrition. The modern urban environment, replete with convenience stores and fast-food restaurants, has provided easy access to generally unhealthy foods and beverages, while not always providing access to healthy ones, especially in Latino communities. A new Salud America! research brief shows that: Families and youth residing in low-income, Latino neighborhoods often face limited access to supermarkets, chain grocery stores and healthy foods. Latino high school students have greater access to both unhealthy and healthy food choices than do other high school students. Compared with the national average, food ...

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Èxito! Grad Testimonial: Maria Priscilla Brietzke



Editor's Note: This is the testimonial of a graduate of the 2011 Summer Institute of Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training. Read more testimonials here or apply by March 1 for the 2012 Èxito! program. Maria Priscilla Brietzke Houston, Texas After seeing how media can help improve Latinas’ health behavior during a practicum along the Texas-Mexico Border, Maria Priscilla Brietzke believes that small changes have big power to help the disadvantaged. Brietzke, who currently is a research assisting at the University of Texas Health Science Center-Houston School of Nursing, is focusing on making both small and large changes in age-related chronic illness. Because she had questions about balancing work and life in a doctoral-level research career, she took a friend’s ...

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